2013 Women's Final Four features new blood in California Bears

When California defeated Georgia in the Spokane, Wash., Regional final Monday, it sent new blood into the Women’s Final Four. The Golden Bears will be the first team from California to make it to the Final Four other than Stanford since 1988.

California guard Layshia Clarendon is the leader of the Lady Bears, who will be making their first ever appearance in the Women's Final Four.AP photo

But it wasn’t easy. Cal started the game 1-18 from the field and trailed by 10, 49-39, with 6:46 left to play. Bears guard Layshia Clarendon, the Regional Most Valuable Player, kept the team together, though, and led the rally that sent them to New Orleans.

Clarendon finished with 25 points to lead second-seeded Cal to a 65-62 overtime victory against fourth-seeded Georgia.

Now the Bears are Final Four bound for the first time in school history.

Here’s a look at Cal:

Record: 32-3.

Coach: Lindsay Gottlieb (second season, 57-13).

How they got here: Cal twice had to go to overtime in the first four games of the NCAA Women’s Tournament to advance. The Bears defeated Fresno State in the first round, 90-76, then defeated South Florida in overtime, 82-78, in the second round. They beat LSU, 73-63, in the Regional semis and Georgia in the championship game, 65-62, in overtime.

Regular season: Cal tied for the PAC 12 regular season title with Stanford, the Spokane Regional top seed that was upset by Georgia in the Regional semis. The teams were both 17-1 in conference play and split the two games they played. Cal’s three losses were to Duke, 77-63, Stanford, 62-53, and UCLA, 70-58, in the PAC 12 Conference tournament.

Starting five

Pos. Player Ht. Class Avg.

G Layshia Clarendon 5-9 So. 16.4

G Afure Jemerigbe 6-0 Jr. 7.4

G Brittany Boyd 5-9 So. 12.6

C Talia Caldwell 6-3 Sr. 9.1

F Gennifer Branden 6-2 Jr. 12.3

Off the bench

Pos. Player Ht. Class Avg.

G Eliza Pierre 5-7 Sr. 2.6

F Rashanda Gray 6-3 So. 8.5

Cal’s upside: This team can rebound. Cal outrebounds opponents 44.8-33.5, including averaging 18.3 offensive rebounds per game. In the Regional championship, Cal outrebounded Georgia, 54-41, with 26 offensive rebounds. The Bears have fair size but great athleticism with even the guards showing good rebounding ability. Clarendon is a clutch player, able to take over a game and can play the point or off guard position.

Cal’s downside: The Bears struggle from the free throw line. Cal made only 61 percent of its free throws during the season and was 12 of 24 from the free throw line against Georgia. They’re not a great shooting team either. Take away Clarendon’s 9-of-18 performance against Georgia and the Bears were 15 of 52 from the field (29 percent). Teams play a lot of zone against the bigger Bears and they’ve not always delivered from the perimeter. Cal isn’t very deep, usually playing seven.

Outlook: The Bears meet a hot shooting team in Louisville. Cal will have to continue its dominance on the boards to have a shot and play good half-court defense. Free throws could be key, too, something the Bears will need to improve on.

Odds and ends: It’s a homecoming of sorts for Cal Athletic Director Sandy Barbour. She was the athletic director at Tulane from 1996-99. She became Cal’s AD in 2004. … Cal is only the third team from the PAC 12 to advance to the Final Four. Stanford and USC are the others. … Cal’s victory against Georgia was its first in school history. Georgia is 3-1 in the series.